


DrabbLus Series 5: Lukanette

by universeEnthusiast



Series: The AnthoLuGy [6]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-29
Updated: 2019-05-22
Packaged: 2019-08-09 09:29:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 16,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16447256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/universeEnthusiast/pseuds/universeEnthusiast
Summary: lukanette drabbles that have been posted to tumblr, moved from the miscellaneous work because they hit three drabbles or more





	1. Okay

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lukanette with the "oh no theres only one bed" trope, both of which i am a sucker for

“Oh,” Marinette said, and Luka looked up from the strange lock he was attempting to figure out how to work.

There was only a double bed in the centre of the hotel room.

“I asked for a two person room,” Luka frowned. “Guess my English isn’t as good as I thought. I’ll go back and ask her to change-”

“Oh, no, c’mon, let’s not bother her this late,” Marinette waved nervously. “I’ll just sleep on the floor.”

“There is no way I’m letting you sleep on the floor,” Luka warned. “Especially not after being stuck in the van for eighteen hours.”

“Well, I’m not letting you sleep on this floor,” Marinette dropped her bag on the bed and gestured. “This place took us in at eleven pm for cash, I do not trust this carpet.”

Luka couldn’t help the smile.

“Y’know, we could just... share...” he said, putting his own bag down and placing his guitar case against the door it in the hopes that even if he couldn’t know for sure if he’d locked it, any intruders would encounter just a little resistance.

Luka turned to check for a response, but Marinette seemed frozen stiff, face red and hands fidgeting nervously.

“Hey, we don’t have to,” he told her, stepping close. “I can go sleep in the van.”

“No, you’ll be c-cold,” she stuttered, avoiding eye contact. “And you’ll wake up sore and...”

Luka waited patiently while she fidgeted, the affectionate smile still plastered unabashedly across his face. To be fair, it was impossible to fight it while she was being this cute.

“We can sh-share.” Marinette squeaked.

“As long as you’re okay with that.” Luka murmured to her. “I don’t want you uncomfortable.”

“We’re adults, right?” Marinette turned to the bed, clearly trying to convince herself not to be anxious. “This is fine.”

Luka shook his head, his cheeks beginning to hurt from smiling so much.

“Get comfy, gorgeous,” he told her, heading for the bathroom. “We should sleep. We can probably make it back to the city before tomorrow night if we wake up early enough.”

The bathroom at least looked sanitary. Luka took some time to clean himself up a little and opened the door.

Marinette had just finished changing, and he watched the oversized band t-shirt she had decided to sleep in fall about her hips as she slipped it on. Luka stepped out from the bathroom, shedding his jacket and jeans.

He sat down on the hotel bed and lay down. After moving her things around and a short glance at the door, Marinette sat down and flopped back.

“You okay?” Luka asked.

“Tired,” Marinette replied.

“Do you want to switch sides or anything?”

“N-no,” suddenly she hit a stutter. “This is fine.”

Luka sighed and smiled again.

“Are you sure this is okay?” he reached out and touched his hand to her arm. “Because I can still take the floor.”

Marinette pouted and rolled to face him. His heartbeat spiked as he looked at her little scrunched up nose, and realised the shirt she was wearing was the one he had bought for her.

“I’m not letting you sleep on the floor,” she warned.

“I just want to make sure you’re comfortable.” Luka smiled at her and brushed his thumb against her skin.

“I’m not uncomfortable,” Marinette went pink in the cheeks again. “I just don’t... know if...”

“Don’t know what?” Luka whispered.

Marinette bit her lip and looked away, but Luka knew she just needed time to work up her courage.

After a moment, she swallowed and took a deep breath and scooted closer, pressing her body lightly to his.

“Is this okay?” she breathed, looking very scared.

Luka wrapped his arms around her in a hug.

“Yes, this is okay,” Luka told her, taking in the scent of her hair.

“Good,” she whispered, hugging back and snuggling into his chest. “Let’s go to sleep already.”

They lay for a few moments and enjoyed the feeling of holding one another, but in the interest of caring for Marinette, Luka wanted to be sure what he was doing was okay.

“Just, if you want me to stop at all-”

“Go to sleep, Luka!” Marinette giggled into his neck.

“Alright,” he sighed happily. “Goodnight, Ma-Ma-Marinette.”

“G’night.”

And together they drifted to slumber.

Any doubt or concern Luka had while they slept dissipated, however, when they awoke the next morning, and he found her snoozing peacefully in his arms, a gentle smile on her face.


	2. The Right Song

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ages ago i asked for requests and the very last one i had in my inbox was a lukanette one i was saving for a rainy day. after frozer, i finally had something to write for it!!

"Luka?"

"Yeah?"

Marinette didn't go on, so Luka looked over to her, pausing his tuning.

She sat with him on the old mattress in the back of his van, the back doors open to the cool summer-night air, parked on an empty bank of the Seine between the bakery and the houseboat.

Over the years, Marinette had adopted the habit of coming to sit with him when she needed downtime. She needed a space where nothing was expected of her, where no-one wanted anything and there was nothing she had to do.

She could just sit with him, and he would sit with her.

Sometimes he would play music and she would listen.

Sometimes she would talk and he would listen.

It was how they were.

Marinette knew she could talk to him, so why was she so hesitant this time?

Luka tucked his guitar between the mattress and the wall, scooted toward her and waited.

Before he could wonder if she'd given up on whatever it was she was going to say, she scooted closer herself.

"Have you ever done something that you knew you were gonna fail at," she asked softly. "Just because you want to know you tried?"

"Well, yeah," he replied. "One time I tried playing 'Through The Fire And Flames' on an acoustic."

Marinette made a face halfway between wanting to laugh and frowning.

"But, I can tell there's more to it than that." Luka whispered.

Marinette bit her lip.

"C'mon, Ma-Ma-Marinette," he coaxed, gently reaching over and brushing his finger against her cheek. "You know you can tell me what you're thinking."

"I just…" she leant her head into his shoulder. "It's not fair to just… go on and on about this to you like a broken record."

"We only let our favorite tunes play on repeat," Luka countered.

Marinette just huffed and pressed her face into the fabric of his hoodie.

"Seriously, though," he whispered. "You don't have to be afraid to talk about things, Marinette. It's me."

"I know." she mumbled. "Adrien. It's… it's Adrien. Big surprise, right?"

Luka sighed. He knew them both well by now.

Adrien was a harmless sweetheart and Luka was fond of him, but even though it wasn't really anyone's fault, sometimes Luka wanted to deck him as retribution for all the pain Marinette had gone through about their relationship.

Or, as the problem had always been, the lack thereof.

Instead, Luka just curled his arm around Marinette, hoping to comfort.

"I just don't know if I should keep trying," she croaked out, her heart not even in the sentence. "When I should know by now that nothing's going to come of it."

He sighed and gave her a squeeze.

"But the idea of giving up…" Marinette trailed off.

Luka, in general, sucked with words, unless they were for musical purposes, but this was the last straw.

Marinette had been miserable about this for too long, and he was going to make a last-ditch attempt to fix it.

So he thought about it while they sat in silence.

"Listen." he began. "Learning a new song is always hard."

Her breath hitched. Where was he going with this?

"But sometimes?" Luka swallowed his anxieties. "Sometimes it's just impossible. There's a chord you just can't manage to hit, or a lyric you can never remember."

Marinette listened intently.

"But there are some songs you'll always know." he smiled. "The ones that get stuck in your head out of nowhere."

Luka turned his head to gaze down at her.

"The ones that you'll never forget the lines to," he continued. "No matter how long since the last time you heard it."

It was on that note that the point of his little speech hit Marinette.

And if she was honest, she didn't care about the implications of the fact that he was making the point.

What mattered was that he was making it.

"And when you can't learn a new song," Luka whispered. "Those are the ones you should play."

Marinette knew what Luka was telling her, and she knew that he was right.

She knew that it had been years and that Adrien was only getting farther away, and boys like Luka and Chat Noir were only getting closer.

Here they were, huddled in the back of his van, where she spent time with him and talked to him whenever she could. They went places and did things together like couples did.

They were practically dating already, short of kissing and touches any more intimate than a hug.

Marinette looked at Luka and his guitar in the corner and the messy mattress beneath them, and felt his arm around her waist, and realized this was what she'd wanted with Adrien.

But she already had it.

"Luka?" she said before thinking about what she should say afterward.

"Yeah?" he turned his attention to her from the late-night view outside.

His blue eyes searched her, but they were still gentle. His thumb brushed against the fabric of her singlet in a comforting gesture.

It was there and then that Marinette made her decision.

"Can I…" she breathed, praying he was graceful about it even though she knew he would be. "Can we… play our song, then?"

The smile that split across his face as he nodded flooded her with a joy and relief she had never felt before. It was an infinitely better sensation than the guilt and regret she'd expected after making her choice.

"Can I kiss you, now?" Luka whispered.

"Please." Marinette sighed happily.

And after those kisses, the only thing Marinette regretted was not letting Luka kiss her sooner.


	3. Waiting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lukanette with distance requested by my xan

**{hey)**  
**{you up yet?)**

"No," Marinette mumbled aloud and rolled away from her phone. "I'm still asleep."

Her phone sounded another notification, and another, and another.

**{if youre not thats ok)**  
**{i saw last nights akuma on the news)**  
**{i know youre tired)**  
**{were about to go on stage so)**  
**{just wanted to remind you i love you)**  
**{get lots of rest and ill talk to you in the morning)**  
**{well later morning)**

Marinette waited till silence fell, admittedly feeling a little guilty for not answering. But she would get the chance to talk to Luka later.

She rolled over to his side of the bed and tugged his pillow down to hug. It wasn’t as warm as him, nor as solid, and it wouldn't hug back, but it smelled faintly of him and it would have to do.

Marinette hated off-season. It was supposed to be a break from the hell that was designing professionally and leave her only with management duties that should take far less time and energy, but it ended up a string of boring tasks that depended on any number of other people in the company that she was always forgetting to reply to and check for messages from.

She stayed in bed longer. Bed was warm and she didn't have to wear an uncomfy bra or do her hair or write polite emails or lose ten minutes trying to figure out what to have for breakfast.

Bed was where Luka should have been, touching her and kissing her and telling her he loved her in person, instead of through a screen.

But Luka was in California on tour, and Marinette was home.

Eventually she got up, because work beckoned, but instead of wearing a dress or a suit, she picked up one of Luka's band shirts from the floor and wore it until the day was done.

===

The lights dropped at the last crash of the symbols, and the band exited the stage as fast as possible in the darkness so the next act could come on.

Luka slung his guitar case over his shoulder and headed back to the bus.

He took a brief shower, scrubbed his face of makeup, changed into comfy clothes for sleep and grabbed his phone.

He sat at the tiny bus table as long as possible to avoid his bunk.

He hated the bunks. They were cold and stiff and cramped, and there was no Marinette to hold, and that was an absolute crime.

**{hey)**  
**{yeah last night was a doozy)**  
**{and caroline still hasnt come back to me about those fabric replacements >:/)**

Luka smiled despite his exhaustion and curled up in the corner of the seat at the tiny bus table.

(cmon caroline}  
(my wife needs her fuckin fabric}  
(youre letting the company down smh}

He looked over his shoulder at the lights of the city out the window. Slowly, his bandmates trickled in from their post-show festivities. Some had gone for food, some for stiff drinks, but Luka only wanted the company of his phone and the woman on the other end of it.

**{hehehehe)**  
**{im not your WIFE you goof)**  
**{im your girlfriend)**

(ok but consider}  
(you COULD be my wife}  
(if you married me}

**{thats how that works yeah)**

Luka waited to see if she was going to bite, because what was a little more waiting? He'd been waiting so long he'd almost forgotten what it was he was waiting to do.

First he'd had to wait for her course to finish, and then he'd had to wait for the house to be finished, and then he'd had to wait for the company's first big season to finish, and then he had to wait for the tour to be finished.

It had hit him on the plane from New York to Washington, as he'd been looking back through old photos of them to fend off homesickness.

Five years had passed without them realising it.

Five years of being in love but also being endlessly, endlessly busy.

But, thankfully, a break was fast approaching: the tour was ending, and off-season was beginning. Luka and Marinette would finally have a little time to themselves.

And Luka was finally going to give her the ring he'd been holding onto for five years.

**{WAIT)**  
**{LUKA)**  
**{LUKA COUFFAINE YOU GET BACK HERE RiGHT THIS INSTANT)**

(???}  
(i havent gone anywhere}  
(whats wrong???}

**{DiD YOU JUST ASK ME TO MARRY Y OU)**

(baby do me a favour}  
(just real quick}  
(go to my nightstand and check the bottom drawer}  
(under the spare bass strings}

Luka's heart pounded in his chest. What would she say?

He began to chew anxiously on his necklace, watching the screen intently.

**{oh my god)**  
**{you fucking DOOFUS)**

She sent him a picture of the cool red sapphire ring that had been sitting in its red velvet box so long he'd almost forgotten what it looked like.

 **{THI S BOX IS COVERED IN DUST)**  
**{HOW LONG HAVE YOU HAD THIS)**  
**{LUKA THIS SAPPHIRE IS LIKE ONE OF THREE THIS COLOR THAT EXIST IN THE WHOLE WORLD)**  
**{AND YOU GOT IT PUT IN SILVER)**  
**{THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN SO EXPENSIVE WHAT THE FUCK)**  
**{HOW MUCH DID THIS COST YOU???)**

(five years}  
(and honestly i dont remember what i spent on it}

**{oh my god)**

(baby are you ok}

**{why have you had it this long)**

(because}  
(till now}  
(youve been too busy to marry me}  
(and when you werent i was}

**{oh)**

(and i WAS gonna wait till i got home on thursday}

**{luka)**

(and im still gonna take you out}  
(and do the whole proposing shit properly}  
(cause you deserve that}   
(but}

**{LUKA)**

(WHAT BABE}

**{IM GONNA MARRY YOU)**

It took him a good moment to come back to his senses.

(you are???}

**{if you were here id be punching you for waiting so long)**  
**{you fucking IDIOT)**  
**{of COURSE im gonna marry you)**

(marinette}  
(i love you}  
(i hope you know that}

**{ITS KINDA HARD TO DENY LUKA)**  
**{i love you too)**  
**{now go to sleep you DINGUS)**  
**{its like 3 your bands gonna get mad if you stay up)**

(alright alright alright}  
(gnight love}

**{good! night!!! xxxxx)**

Luka turned his phone off and tiptoed past the snoozing, snoring bandmates to his terrible bunk with a stupid smile on his face.

Beyond the country, across the ocean, and in the middle of the city, Marinette squeezed the ring box to her chest and giggled and flopped onto the messy bed kicking the air in an effort to spend the excited energy.

The distance between them didn't matter. It had never mattered. What had hurt was that the other was not with them.

But now they would be closer than ever.


	4. Tonight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a request for lukanette with a first kiss

"Did you have fun tonight?"

Marinette thought for a moment.

She paused them in their strolling tracks and looked out over the water of the Seine flowing below the bridge they'd been crossing, drifting towards the railing.

"I did." she leant on her elbows. "But…"

"But?" Luka joined her.

"That line means the night's over, doesn't it?" Marinette sighed. "I don't want tonight to be over."

"It doesn't have to be over yet," he offered. "But there isn't much else to do this late at night."

"I know." she spoke softly.

For a moment, they stayed there, letting the cool summer breeze blow past them.

Slowly, Marinette leant over and into Luka's shoulder. It was solid, but still comfy thanks to the soft hoodie fabric.

"Thank you for taking me out." she said, closing her eyes.

"Thanks for getting tickets." he replied. "I'm glad you gave the other one to me."

"Honestly, I figured even if I gave it to him, Adrien wouldn't come." Marinette admitted. "But I knew you'd love to come along, so…"

"I did love it." Luka turned and leant his head on hers. "I hope you loved it, too."

"I think everyone has fun at a Jagged Stone concert," she giggled. "But… I liked being there with you."

"Good." Luka hummed. "Cause I liked having you with me."

Marinette's cheeks went red and she smiled.

"I… want you with me… all the time, actually." he murmured.

Her eyes opened and she moved to look at him.

The expression on his face was so warm and gentle and his eyes flickered around her, as if he were trying to memorize what she looked like.

"Me too." Marinette bit her lip. "I want to be with you all the time. It… its nice, being with you. It's nice and it feels good."

Luka smiled wide, and she saw his cheeks dust pink.

He moved to step away from the railing and she followed by turning in place.

Luka hugged her.

Marinette embraced him, humming happily.

She felt his lips brush against her cheek and she gasped softly.

He swallowed, nervous.

Marinette blinked and took a deep breath and brought her hands up to his cheeks.

She had to stand on her tippy-toes to reach, but she kissed him.

Luka kissed back deeper and hugged her tighter to him.

When they finally broke, they began to chuckle.

"Come see me tomorrow?" he asked, quietly and hopefully.

"Let's try to get home tonight before we make plans for tomorrow," Marinette giggled. "But… I do want to see you tomorrow."

Luka beamed and let go of her to step back and offer his hand.

She took it and they kept walking across the bridge, a tentative energy in their strides.

Maybe tonight was over, but their time together was only beginning.


	5. Dance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a peice i wrote when i was in a bit of a mood. this ones just the slightest bit angsty but it has a happy ending i swear

"Hey," Luka beckoned.

"Oh, hey," Adrien looked up.

"Mind if I sit?" Luka asked.

"Sure." Adrien nodded.

Luka slid into the shitty foldout chair at the disappointingly small table.

"How's your night been?" Luka asked, draining his cup of the awful tangy punch and shuddering as he put the cup back down on the table.

"Shit," Adrien replied, fiddling with a fork on the table.

"Same." Luka leant his elbows on the table and rested his face in one hand.

He looked over to Marinette.

Her dress far outshined every other girl's, and she'd made a few jaws drop, but she was still leaning alone against the wall.

Luka wanted to go over, to talk to her, to bring a smile to her face. He knew a slow-dance was coming soon, and he would have loved to take her hand and bring her out to the dance floor to sway together among the other couples attending.

But, he remembered as he looked over to the other miserable boy beside him, Marinette may not have wanted the same thing.

So Luka took a deep breath and cleared his throat.

"Adrien." he beckoned for the second time tonight.

"Mm?" the blond hummed in reply.

"Can you do me a favour and ask Marinette to dance?" Luka asked.

"Wh…" Adrien frowned and turned to him completely. "Why?"

"Why not?" Luka shrugged. "Can’t hurt."

Adrien looked to Marinette and his expression softened.

Luka's heart shrunk a little.

"I don't know if she'd accept." Adrien admitted.

"Please?" Luka began to get frustrated, but he tried not to let it show. "It would really make her night, guaranteed."

Adrien's bright green eyes somehow still managed to glow in the dim lights of the Dance.

 _C'mon, you beautiful dumb idiot_ , Luka dared internally. _Please just go make her happy. You're all she wants._

"I'll… I'll go talk to her," Adrien said, and got up.

Luka sighed, but whether it was in disappointment or relief, even he didn't know.

He watched Adrien in his stupid white rich-boy tux walk over and begin to talk with Marinette.

The way her face lit up made his throat go tight.

Luka decided that his work was done. Adrien would ask Marinette to dance and she would be happy and it wouldn't matter that Luka's heart was slowly withering in his chest.

He stood up, pushed the shitty chair in under the shitty table, and slowly made his way for the door.

Just before the door, at the snack table, he looked back. Adrien and Marinette were chatting idly. Marinette laughed at something Adrien said and Adrien smiled and opened his mouth to say something else.

The little Casanova was probably waiting for the slow-dance to start.

Luka couldn’t watch, but something kept him from walking out the door.

He eyed the unattended food, picked up a handful of the little cheese cubes on the hors d'oeuvres platter and ate them all at once.

"Don't eat too many of those, you might get a tummy ache." came a gentle voice from behind him.

Luka very nearly jumped out of his skin.

He turned, and there stood Marinette.

"Marinette?" he choked, but not on the cheese cubes.

"Yeah, who else?" she smiled.

Luka conceded that with an accepting nod.

"Luka," Marinette cleared her throat. "Will you come dance with me?"

"I thought Adrien…" Luka looked around, but it seemed Adrien had disappeared.

"Adrien told me you asked him to ask me," Marinette blushed. "But… I think you wanted to ask."

"I did." Luka admitted. "But is it me you want to dance with?"

Marinette seemed to realise something, and then she looked him up and down with something like wonder.

"Please." she said. "Please dance with me."

Marinette held out her hand to lead him away, but Luka took it and kissed it.

She went redder and he led her backwards onto the dance floor.

Just in time for the slow-dance to start.

Luka curled his arms around her waist and she hooked hers over his shoulders.

And they swayed.


	6. If You Love Something

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thing i have a lot of complex feelings about: cultural backgrounds, luka's mom, and lukanette. the idea for this drabble came to me in the middle of the night and i almost died getting it on a page. the story luka's mother is telling him is an actual scottish legend i know.

_"This is a story from long, long ago." his mother had told him._

_"Three brothers walked along a beach. Near the waves, they saw a group of beautiful maidens dancing in the night. They were selkies._

_The first brother told them to run down to the rocks and search for the selkies' hidden sealskins, and then when they found them, they took one each and waited._

_One by one, the selkies came to take back their skins, until only three were left. The brothers held up the skins and the selkies came to them, and the brothers told them they would be brides._

_The brothers took their new brides home and hid their sealskins so they could not return to the sea._

_After some time, the bride of the first brother grew homesick for the sea, and asked him for her sealskin. He said no, and she asked again and again, and again and again he said no. One night, he became so angry with her begging that he threw her sealskin off a cliff, and she jumped off after it, and he lost her._

_The bride of the second brother grew homesick for the sea as well, and asked him for the sealskin, but he ignored her questions. One night, she found and stole her sealskin and ran away to the sea, and he lost her._

_The bride of the third brother also grew homesick, and one night, he noticed her singing on the beach. He asked her why her song was sad, and his bride replied that she longed to return to the sea. The third brother truly loved the selkie, so he went and brought her the sealskin, and she left him."_

Luka watched Marinette sprint away with a sad smile on his face.

He wouldn't lie, it stung watching her go, especially after how upset she'd been earlier, and the akuma, and the kiss she'd just left on his cheek that still tingled. Today had been kind of a mess, and he'd been hoping to make up for it on the subway.

But the way she'd looked at Adrien… she wanted to talk to him so badly, he _had_ to let her go.

Luka sighed and turned and began to walk away.

He wasn't in a hurry, so he just strolled slowly down the empty path, thinking about the lesson his mother had been teaching him for years.

_"Lad, yeh must always try to be the third brother."_

_"Why, ma?"_

_"Because yeh can't keep a girl from where she wants to be. It's not right, son."_

Luka kicked a pebble along the pavement.

_"If yeh truly love a girl, yeh'll try to make her happy, even if it means lettin' her go."_

"LUKA!" came a shout in the distance.

Luka paused at the sound of hurried footsteps rapidly approaching from behind, and turned quickly enough to be barrelled into by Marinette.

Nothing was hurt, but suddenly being on the ground was a tad jarring.

"Sorry!" she yelped from atop his chest.

_"But, I'll tell yeh something, Luka."_

Luka could only blink at her for a moment.

_"The third brother sat on the beach every night after his bride returned to the sea, because he missed her."_

Marinette sat up and offered her hand to help him do the same.

_"And one night, the selkie returned to him, and told him that she would always belong to the sea, but she could come to be with him once every ninth night, because she'd missed him, too."_

"Adrien couldn't offer me a lift home," Marinette shrugged nervously. "I figured we could still take the subway together, cause that's _way_ better than going alone. I mean… y'know, if that's still alright with you?"

Luka nodded and a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

_"Yeh should always be the third brother, lad."_

He stood and helped her to her own feet, and then she took his hand gently in hers and they kept walking for the subway.

_"Cause if yeh are, sometimes the girl will decide it's you that makes her happy after all."_


	7. Flirting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lukanette and flirting
> 
> so this is slightly suggestive but is not explicit in any way

Marinette frowned at her phone.

This was the seventh article she’d consulted and she’d found precisely no good advice.

She’d even found some decidedly _bad_ advice.

She considered asking Alya, but all of Alya’s advice required a fieriness Marinette did not have on tap like Alya did. Mylene knew how to keep her man, but not how to get a new one. Alix was absolutely not interested in men, Rose and Juleka were only interested in each other, and Kagami had already given Marinette advice.

Nino was her oldest friend, but she supposed if she asked him and not Alya, Alya might not be impressed, and that was something she didn’t need.

Marinette huffed and rolled over on her bed.

There was one person she hadn’t asked yet.

Going to Luka about this might end up weird.

But… it might also end up with her finally getting a partner.

Marinette took a breath and sighed and got up to call him.

===

“Flirting?” Luka’s smile began to widen. “You want help with flirting?”

“Yes, flirting.” Marinette nodded, cheeks rapidly betraying her. “I want to find someone, and I think I need to know how to flirt for that.”

The black-and-blue haired boy chuckled weakly.

His cute pink companion quickly lost her nerve.

“So, do you want to teach you how to flirt?” Luka asked, sitting back on his bunk. “Or just flirt with you?”

Marinette’s heart did the kind of backflip Chat Noir liked to jump off rooves with.

“T-teach me,” she squeaked. “Just... just teaching me is fine, Luka.”

“Alright,” he grinned. “So first thing you need to know about flirting is that it’s not about what everyone thinks it’s about.”

Marinette cocked her head in questioning.

“People think flirting is about convincing the person you’re flirting with that you have what they want.” Luka leant on his hands. “That flirting is for making yourself look good, or making someone else think that you’re good for them.”

“Isn’t it?” Marinette squinted.

“No.” he shook his head. “If you’re trying to make getting with someone about yourself, you’re already doing it wrong.”

“Okay,” she mused. “So how do I do it _right_?”

“Depends on the person,” Luka shrugged. “Hopefully you know them enough to know what they like and what they don’t.”

“Can you give me some examples?” Marinette huffed.

“Alright, so, hypothetically, if I wanted to flirt with you,” he shifted to lean forward. “I’d think about what I know about you and say something like…”

Luka paused, just to be coy, because he already knew how to flirt with Marinette. He knew that she felt lonely and underappreciated, and that that had been the case for a very long time, and that what she wanted was someone to make her feel special.

And he wanted to be the one to do it.

In the end, of course, it was up to her, but that didn’t mean he didn’t want to give it his best shot.

“You left your hair down today,” he smiled. “It looks nice.”

Marinette went a little pink and blinked her big blue eyes at him, subconsciously reaching up to touch her hair.

“But I could also take that one step further,” he whispered, intending to be gentle for a moment. “And say…”

Her breath hitched and she had no idea why.

“Your hair looks lovely like this,” Luka looked her in the eyes. “But I’d love to see how looks with my fingers tangled in it.”

She went bright red and seemed to seize up.

“Sorry,” he retreated. “Was that too much?”

“N-n-no.” Marinette looked away. “It’s just… wow, that really works, huh?”

 _Well, yeah, I sure hope it does_ , Luka thought, biting his lip through the smile, and then spoke aloud. “You can try on me, if you like.”

Marinette made a considering pout, looking Luka up and down. He wanted to kiss her little scrunched up nose.

He wanted to kiss all of her.

“I see you like Jagged Stone,” she shifted her shoulders to look causal. “You have good taste.”

Luka wouldn’t lie, that was a very strong start. But, then again, if she met him at a bar and asked him to take her home, he wouldn’t exactly need any convincing.

“Good start, but you might wanna up the ante, babe,” he coaxed softly.

“Oh, okay, uh,” Marinette pouted. “Well…”

He raised his eyebrows in expectation.

“I see you like Jagged Stone,” she took a deep breath gathering her courage. “I’ve worked for him for years now, you know. How would you like to know more about him?”

Luka was struck by that offer, and decided they were ready to move to phase two.

“I’m listening,” he said, and then whispered. “You’re doing great, but sometimes you need to sell it just a little bit more.”

“Oh, oh, right,” she did a little wiggle, the kind she did when she got excited, then cleared her throat. “If you’re interested, I could tell you everything I know over coffee?”

If he could get any more sold than he already was, he would never know.

“Oof,” Luka huffed, pleased. “Quick tip, you might wanna change your second location at the end, cause some people are ‘over a drink’, some are ‘over dinner’, some are ‘over coffee’, and some are… well, some are 'back at my place’.”

Marinette went a little pink and nodded.

“But… you would have had me,” he assured.

“…Would I, now?” she swallowed, trying to be cool.

“Absolutely.” Luka nodded, and then, feeling brave, continued. “For any of those final offers.”

Marinette went bright red again.

She knew that a) it had been far too long since her last date and b) that she cared about Luka too much to let herself turn him down.

So she took another breath and decided it was game on.

“Well, we’re already in your room,” Marinette shrugged coolly. “But I think I could use a little more persuasion.”

Something changed in Luka’s eyes, something she liked.

“How should I persuade you, then?” he smiled, voice becoming gentle. “Should I tell you that your skin looks soft and I’d love to test that theory with my lips?”

Marinette’s face felt like it burst into flames, but she wanted to hear more.

“How about I tell you that I love what you wear, but that I bet you look just as good with none of it on?” Luka whispered.

That one made her squeak.

“Too far,” he nodded. “Sorry, Marinette.”

“No, it’s-it’s okay.” she panted a little and put her fingers to her cheek, needing to cool down. “Goodness…”

Luka chuckled.

“Can I ask you to coffee?” he asked. “I want to.”

“You can ask me to do whatever you want,” Marinette breathed hotly, and then panicked. “I MEAN YOU CAN ASK ME TO WHATEVER YOU WANT.”

Luka smiled and shook his head.

“How’s noon tomorrow sound?”

“Sounds good.”


	8. Call

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lukanette with a kiss to distract

“Marinette.”

Marinette paced around and around the couch.

The phone had been silent all day.

“Baby.”

She checked the clock.

Only 6:12.

Still five and three-quarter hours left for the call to come.

“Marinette.”

She went around the couch again, quick enough that the ad on the TV hadn’t changed on the second pass.

Marinette should really eat something, or have a shower, or even just sit down, but she couldn’t.

She needed that call to come.

“Babe.”

Without the call there would be no replacement fabric for the seventh piece in her lineup, and without the seventh piece, the organisers would think she was stupid and cancel her whole show and then her whole line would be cancelled and then her entire company would go down in flames before its first big season and her career would be over and her name would be erased from-

A ping sounded from her phone and she dived for the couch with a speed she usually only had while transformed.

“Jesus, love…”

Marinette unlocked the phone.

It was a message from Alya enquiring about lunch on Monday.

Marinette almost began to tear her hair out. She grabbed one of the throw pillows from the couch and smothered the half-scream, half-groan bursting from her throat.

“Aw, baby…”

Marinette stayed there, face in the pillow, for a good minute, and then rolled onto her back on the floor with it.

“Marinette.”

She heard the gentle thuds of Luka’s knees on the carpet beside her head.

“Gimme the pillow.” he said.

“No.” she replied, muffled by the little cushion.

“Give,” he coaxed, tugging at the corner.

“Just let me suffocate.” Marinette groaned. “I can’t blow my life’s work if I’m dead.”

“That’s a ‘no’ from me, gorgeous.” Luka gave an unexpected yank, successfully removing the pillow and tossing it towards the hall so she couldn’t get it back. “What’s so important about this call, anyway? I haven’t seen you this stressed since the loan application.”

“If Judith doesn’t call me before midnight, I can’t turn in my registration.” Marinette blurted, sitting up to panic. “No registration, no spot in the show. No show, no advertisements. No advertisements, low profits. Low profits and we might go into the red and then-”

Luka cut her off by putting his hand to her cheek and catching her lips in a kiss.

Dumbstruck, all Marinette could do was blink at him.

“First of all,” Luka stroked her cheek with his thumb. “Judith’s still got, like, five hours.”

Marinette sighed and pouted at the still silent phone.

“Second, you know damn well you could finish number seven with a fuckin’ shower curtain if you wanted to.” Luka nudged her head with his, bringing her attention back to him. “Even if she falls through, send the form. You’ll figure something out.”

Marinette nodded acceptingly.

“And third,” Luka booped her nose. “You need to eat something.”

Her stomach growled, as if it had been waiting to betray her on cue.

“But-”

Luka kissed the protest out of her.

“I made spaghetti.” he pointed to the kitchen emphatically, with his whole arm. “Go eat some.”

“But the-”

Again, she was silenced by a smooch.

“No arguing, only dinner.” Luka tutted. 

Marinette sighed and stood up to retrieve some spaghetti, and then sat at the kitchen bar to eat it.

Luka sat beside her, and every time she looked out to the lounge, as if to listen for the phone, Luka would kiss her temple, earning him an indignant pout.

Slowly, she emptied her bowl, and just as she placed it the sink to be washed, she heard a distant ringtone and darted for the door.

Luka sighed and smiled and shook his head and followed her out.

“Yes,” Marinette spoke eagerly into the phone, hand on her chest in relief. “Yes, nine is perfect, Judith…”

Luka came up behind her to hug her and kiss the top of her head and she swatted gently at his face to shoo him away. Instead, he kissed her fingers, amused and completely undeterred.

He heard the indistinct chatter on the other end of the line as Marinette craned her neck back to look up at him, another cute scowl on her face. He kissed her forehead and her cheeks went red.

“Thank you, Judith.” Marinette said, and hung up before turning on him. “Stop that.”

“Stop what?” he smiled smugly.

“Being distracting.” she pouted.

“I have no idea what you could possibly mean.” Luka said, and spun her in his arms to kiss her again and again and again.


	9. Time (ft. adrigami)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> luka and kagami discussing their superhero lovers

“Stop chewing on that.”

“Shorry.”

Luka tugged the hoodie string out of his mouth and reached for the silver pendant around his neck. Kagami rolled her eyes.

“Worrying won’t help them.” Kagami stirred her tea. “Or you.”

“But it'sh not like I can do anyhing elshe,” Luka argued around the metal piece between his teeth. “That'sh my baby girl out there. I can’t jusht shit here and pretend she'sh not in danger.”

“Do you forget I have a loved one out there, too?” she sipped.

“Who, Plagg?” he retorted.

Kagami pursed her lips.

“Lishen.” Luka sat forward. “That'sh the firsht time you’ve shaid that, ever, and it washn’t efen to Adrien. Washn’t efen an actual shentensh, either. You jusht shaid it to inshult me.”

“Take that out of your mouth when you speak to me,” she told him coldly. “Or I’ll choke you with it.”

He popped the silver pendant from his lips and it fell back down to his neck, and frowned at her.

“You say I care too much.” Luka reached for some of the orange cake on his plate. “But maybe you just think _I **say**_ I care too much.”

“What?” Kagami blinked, unimpressed.

“Do you love Adrien?” he asked between mouthfuls of cake. “Yes or no.”

“Yes.” she replied.

“Have you told him?” Luka raised his eyebrows. “Yes or no.”

“…No.”

“And you said you never hesitate.” he smiled and shook his head.

“What does it matter to you, anyway?” Kagami crossed her arms. “He’s not _your_ boyfriend, he’s mine.”

“Look, Marinette and I would _gladly_ take him off your hands,” Luka shrugged.

She rolled her eyes.

“Remind me why you tolerate me, again?” he ate another mouthful of cake. “Cause you don’t seem to like me very much.”

“Because you’re the only other one who knows.” Kagami replied, taking another sip of her swiftly cooling tea. “And the only one who knows what it feels like.”

Luka softened and sighed.

“Do you know why I tell Marinette I love her all the time?” he asked her, not looking up from his almost finished cake, and then added. “Yes or no.”

“No.” she admitted, looking to the floor. “I’d be lying if I said I understood why.”

“It’s cause she needs to hear it.” Luka said. “Marinette’s life is full of chaos and bullshit and she needs something solid, something she can depend on no matter what. She decided it was me, and I’m not gonna let her down.”

“Alright.” Kagami nodded slowly. “Makes sense.”

“ _Adrien_ ,” he poked his fork at his table companion, chewing almost nonchalantly. “Is the same.”

After only a single second of thought, she had to concede his point.

“He’s a squishy little sweetheart.” Luka swallowed the last of his cake. “And he goes through a lot of shit. So, if you love him, you gotta tell him.”

Kagami chewed on her tongue, considering.

“Tell him. Watch him light up.” he nodded, stacking his empty glass and plate on the server tray. “It’ll make his fuckin’ day, every time.”

“Does it make Marinette light up?” she asked, playing with the handle of her mug.

“Yeah.” Luka said, very gently, and smiled for the first time in their entire conversation.

Then his face fell, and he looked up and around at the buildings.

“They’ll be back soon.” Kagami assured softly. “You’ll get to ask her.”

Luka only began chewing on his hoodie string again.

A rush of glowing Ladybugs burst past them, signalling the end of the fight, and Luka let out a relieved puff of air and put his head in his hands for a moment.

Kagami felt her own heartbeat steady out.

“Augh, I am _so_ sorry,” came Marinette’s voice behind Luka. “The line for the Ladies’ was fifteen people long.”

“It’s alright, baby,” Luka turned to greet her with a kiss and a loving look that only Kagami seemed to catch while Marinette took her seat. “Your coffee won’t be as icy, now, though.”

“It’ll still taste nice,” she shrugged and took a sip.

“Sorry, all,” Adrien appeared from around the corner. “My father tends to call at the _worst_ times.”

“Yes, he’s awful like that, isn’t he.” Kagami said dryly as he sat, then cleared her throat. “Are… are you alright?”

No-one at the table had expected her to ask him that and it showed.

“Y-yes, I am,” Adrien smiled awkwardly, giving her a quizzical look. “Are… are _you_ feeling alright, Kagami?”

“Actually,” Kagami considered. “I’m doing very well.”

“I’m glad to hear it.” Adrien’s smile turned genuine and he turned to finish his coffee.

“Oh, no,” Marinette looked at her phone. “We’re gonna be late for our reservation.”

“Not if we run,” Luka answered, kissing her cheek and standing up.

Marinette followed, and with a wave to Adrien and Kagami, headed for where Luka had parked.

“You… gonna ask her tonight?” Adrien bit his lip.

Luka took in a sharp breath and fished a little box out of his pocket to flash for them. He nodded, crossed his fingers, and gave them a wave and sprinted after Marinette.

“I wonder if they’re rushing it,” Adrien took a sip of his latte.

“If they are, he’ll wait a little longer,” Kagami replied. “They’ll know when the time is right to strike.”

“Still…” Adrien bit his lip.

“Luka is of the opinion that life is too short to waste time.” Kagami told him. “One of the things I find we actually agree on, on some level.”

“You definitely are not one to waste your time,” Adrien agreed with a half-chuckle.

“Speaking of time,” she checked her PDA. “I must head home.”

“Ah, me too.” he stood up to offer her his hand.

“Adrien,” Kagami beckoned as she stood.

“Yes?” Adrien asked.

She straightened his jacket and smoothed the collar, and then looked up to his face and blushed.

“I love you,” she told him.

The way he lit up was as flustering as it was endearing.

“Oh, I love you, too!” he beamed and hugged her tight.

Silently, Kagami thanked Luka profusely for his advice, and then she took Adrien’s enthusiastically offered arm, and together they walked to their parked family cars.


	10. Serenade (Lukanette Week Day 1: Music)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lukanette with a side of luka/nino brotp

“Think she’s caught on yet?” Nino asked.

“If she has, she’s not saying anything.” Luka bit his lip.

They were trying to look casual at their lunch table as on the next one, Marinette bopped her head to their recent collaboration playing in a borrowed pair of Nino’s headphones while she sketched, a song written and sung by Luka and mixed by Nino.

It was, unsurprisingly, a song written for her.

But neither could tell if  _she_  could tell that.

“I feel like you need to be less subtle.” Nino shook his head.

“I’m scared.” Luka replied.

“She’s been lonely for too long, man, she’s not exactly gonna turn you down.” Nino retorted.

“I don’t want her to date me cause I’m her only option,” Luka frowned, offended. “I want her to date me cause she wants to.”

“See, that’s exactly why y-” Nino gave up halfway and sighed. “Whatever, my dude, all I’m sayin’ is, she didn’t pick up on the last two, if she doesn’t pick it up now, you’re gonna have to change your angle.”

“… _and when you sing, it’s like a blessin_ ’,” Marinette suddenly began to sing aloud to the song. “ _Please, baby, let me take you back to heaven_ …”

Luka went red and sat his face in his hands on the table, wrecked by her little display of appreciation for his work.

“You really think she’s the best fucking thing on the planet, don’t you.” Nino tisked and shook his head.

“Shut up.” Luka groaned.

“No, this is hilarious.” Nino smiled. “I thought she was cute, but you must think she’s made of moonbeams or some shit.”

“Fuck ooofffff…” Luka groaned again.

“What did you call her in this one, again?” Nino teased. “The first song it was the night sky, the second it was sugar, what was this one?”

“Angel,” Luka replied, muffled by his hands.

“You’re an idiot, you know that, right?” Nino crossed his arms and shook his head.

“Nino, be nice.” Marinette scolded.

Luka shot upright.

“It’s  _so_  good, Luka,” she beamed at him, handing the headphones back to Nino. “I didn’t wanna stop listening!”

“Obviously, since you’ve had it on repeat for an hour.” Nino said dryly.

“Well… I…” Marinette went red in the face. “I would have listened longer, but I have a lecture in five minutes, so I should run now.”

“Yeah, don’t wanna be late.” Luka gave her a soft smile.

“Right, uh, yes…” she turned away, but then paused and turned back.

“Need something, Nette?” Nino asked, a hint of coaxing in his voice.

“Uh, you know, I-I’d love a copy to-to listen to in my r-room,” Marinette stuttered.

“I can send you one.” Nino nodded. “But you know Luka can come by and sing it for you in person, right?”

Marinette somehow went even redder. Luka shot Nino a look.

“I’d love that,” she said, perhaps a little too breathily.

“I’ll come by when were both free.” Luka smiled at her.

“Awesome,” Marinette beamed. “I’ll message you.”

“Yeah,” Luka nodded.

“Nette, your class.” Nino reminded.

“OH GOD,” she yelped and began to sprint away, waving at them. “BYE!”

Luka and Nino watched her disappear.

“She invited me to her place.” Luka breathed, in awe.

“You’re welcome.” Nino sassed.

Luka flipped him off.

Nino only laughed and flipped him off right back.


	11. Motherland (Lukanette Week Day 2: Family)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lukanette and family. i may have used this one to get some of the thoughts floating around regarding the fandom discourse at the time off my chest

“Luka?”

“Yeah?”

“Your  _maman_ ,” Marinette frowned at the sky. “She was from Scotland, right?”

“Born and raised,” Luka nodded, his head next to hers as they lay on the deck of the boat.

“How did she end up in Paris?” she asked.

“She wanted to travel before she settled down,” he replied. “But after she met my dad, she kinda just… never left.”

“Oh, wow, my  _maman_  did the same,” Marinette turned her head to see him. “She came on a holiday and just happened to walk into Papa’s bakery for bread one morning, and then she never wanted to leave.”

“That’s cute,” Luka said earnestly, giving her a gentle look. “It’s cool how meeting one person can change your life forever.”

Marinette blushed and felt her heart stutter.

Luka chuckled.

“…Does your  _maman_  ever want to go back?” she asked, looking around the boat.

“Oh, definitely,” he laughed. “She always says that as soon as Jules graduates, she’s going back, with or without us.”

Marinette giggled, too.

“Yours?” Luka shifted on the hard surface beneath them.

“… I don’t know…” she sighed. “She doesn’t say anything about going back, but… I know if I left Paris I’d want to come back, no matter who I met.”

“Does your ma talk about where she grew up?” he asked.

“Yeah, a little. She talks about the cities, and the people she used to know,” Marinette considered. “And sometimes she’ll sing songs, and I don’t understand the words.”

“Oh, same with ma,” Luka nodded. “She talks about the land, the fields and farms and old castles. She’s got plenty of bar stories from her hometown, since like every second person drank. And she sings  _so_  many songs in Scots and Gaelic. I feel you.”

Marinette watched a puffy cloud pass above them.

“… Do you have family over there?” she asked softly.

“Ma has about twelve brothers and sisters.” he chuckled. “I’ve never met any of them. I know all their names, but don’t ask me to pronounce them, cause they won’t be correct.”

“Oh, same here,” Marinette moved her head, since the back of her skull was getting sore. “I have a lot of cousins, but I can’t say all their names right.”

“Maybe one day you will.” Luka encouraged.

They sat a little while longer while Marinette mulled over what else she wanted to ask. Luka wasn’t bothered by the quiet, filling it by humming softly, a song they both loved.

“Luka, do…” she pouted, conflicted. “Do you miss Scotland, even though you’ve never been there?”

He looked surprised by this, but like all of him, it was mellow, more like someone had poked him unexpectedly than he’d been asked a shocking question.

“Kinda?” he mused. “I know I really wanna go back. Or, like, I feel like I should? Like, it’s where I came from, so I should be there again at least once.”

“Me too.” Marinette whispered.

“You feelin okay, Ma-Ma-Marinette?” Luka reached over and brushed his hand to the back of hers.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she faked a smile. “I just…”

“C'mon, talk to me.” he urged.

Marinette rolled onto her side so she was facing him.

“Kagami invited me to dinner,” she frowned. “And her mother asked me where I was from. I said ‘I’m French’, and she said 'no, where is your homeland?’. So I said 'oh,  _maman_  is from China,’ and she said 'where in China?’, and… I didn’t know.”

Luka rolled onto his side to join her.

“And I felt awful for not knowing,” Marinette swallowed. “But…  _maman_  never told me. I… I never even asked.”

Luka could tell this was eating at her, and that his normal methods of soothing her weren’t quite going to cut it this time, so he made a decision then.

“Kagami’s mother looked at me like I was stupid for not knowing.” her eyes welled and lip trembled. “And Kim’s mama always said she doesn’t like my eyes cause they’re blue, and… when my uncle came to visit, I had to get  _Adrien_  to translate, cause I can’t even speak my own language, and I’m too scared to ask  _maman_  to teach me, and I’d probably be no good at it anyway, and… and… sometimes it feels like the only Chinese thing about me is my name…”

“Whoa, whoa, Marinette,” he brushed a stray tear off her cheek. “It’s alright. It’s okay.”

She sniffed and pouted.

“Listen, I don’t know one word of Gaelic,” Luka shook his head. “And people ask me why I don’t have red hair all the fuckin’ time, and  _my_ ma never told  _me_  what the name of  _her_  hometown was, either. And I think my name might be Latin, or something, so no points there.”

Marinette rubbed her eyes and together they sat up.

“Look, the point is, it’s okay to not know where you came from.” he shrugged. “You can find out.”

She gave him a doubtful, questioning look.

“We can find out together, if you like.” Luka offered. “We can ask our mas, one question at a time, and tell each other what they say.”

Marinette didn’t know what to say, but she liked the idea.

“And, one day, when I’m a rich and famous rockstar,” he smiled and leant in close. “I’ll buy us plane tickets and hotel rooms and we’ll go to those places we came from. Together.”

She smiled, unsure if it was just flowery words meant to make her feel better or a real promise, but appreciating it all the same, and gave him a hug.

“Marinette!” called Luka’s mother across the deck. “Are yeh stayin’ fer dinner, love?”

“No, but thank you!” Marinette called back. “I should be going back home now.”

“Yeah,” Luka let her go and she shot to her feet. “See you later, Ma-Ma-Marinette.”

“Bye!” she yelped as she sprinted away.

And Luka stood up and went back to his room to think.

===

“You didn't…” she murmured.

“Yeah, I did.” he bit his lip nervously. “Happy Anniversary.”

Marinette blinked at the plane tickets and trip-planner notebook in her hand, and then looked, wide-eyed up to Luka’s face.

“Luka, are you  _sure_?”

“It’s a bit late to not be, so…” he stood up, swallowing.

“This had to be weeks… no,  _months_  of planning…!” Marinette put her palm to her forehead, dazed. “And-and how much did it  _cost_ …”

“More like years,” Luka admitted. “And it was… a lot of saving up. But it was no big deal, babe, honest. I’m just making good on a promise.”

Marinette just threw her arms around him, stunned, but joy was rapidly approaching. Luka hugged back tight.

“That conversation was  _how_  many years ago?” she half-demanded. “And you… you really…”

“Six and a half years,” he supplied, rocking her a little. “And of course I did.”

“I sure hope my extended family likes you,” she shook her head and looked up at him again. “Cause there’s no way I’m letting you go after this.”

“And if they don’t?” he teased.

“Then we’ll just have to elope.” Marinette shrugged matter-of-factly.

“We’ve been married a whole year, babycakes.” he reminded. “It’s a bit late to elope.”

“They better like you then.” she said resolutely, reaching up to kiss him.

He smiled and kissed her in reply.


	12. Emotional (Lukanette Week Day 3: Confession)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one is a little bit angsty so warning for that

They’re afraid.

He watches.

He knows it’s going to hurt, but he watches.

It’s going to tear her apart, and knowing it’ll happen hurts him, too.

She’s going to ask him, and the answer will shatter her.

He’s ready to pick up her pieces and carry her until she can put herself back together.

It doesn’t make watching her break any easier.

…

Part of her, knows it, too.

She knows it’s going to hurt, but she walks toward him.

Adrien’s going to say some gentle ‘no’ and it’s going to shatter her, and everything.

She’s going to talk to him, because she wants it to be over. She wants to be done with it.

It doesn’t make breaking any easier.

===

They’re sad.

He holds her.

It won’t take the pain away, but he holds her.

She is hurt, and he wants to heal her, but he can’t make her better.

He’s still going to do anything he can to make it easier.

…

She clings to him.

He can’t take the pain away, but she clings to him.

She is hurt, and she wants to heal, but she’s not ready to make herself better.

But he’s making it easier, and she’s grateful.

===

Luka watches her smile, and a weight drops off the shoulders of his soul.

Maybe the pain hasn’t entirely gone away, but she’s whole again, and that’s what matters.

She can be happy again, and that makes him happy.

…

Marinette watches him play his music, and her heart follows the notes.

The ache is not gone, but she’s healed enough that she can push it away, and that counts for something.

She can be happy again, and it’s because of him.

She’s going to talk to him, and she knows this time it’s not going to hurt at all.

They’re going to be happy.


	13. Backup (Lukanette Week Day 4: Miraculous)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette is in hospital after Lila hurts her and Luka, the only person left that she can depend on, takes on the role of Ladybug until she gets better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> !Content Warning! for scenes taking place in a hospital and mentions of needles, blood and bruises!! be safe with ur mental health yall

“Stop scowling, you’ll wrinkle that pretty face of yours.” he deadpanned.

“Don’t call me pretty.” his black-clad partner growled.

Blood Spot rolled his eyes, something he did so often recently he wondered if his eye muscles could give Marinette’s biceps a run for their money.

Chat Noir crouched grumpily on a chimney stack.

“Where is Ladybug?” he growled.

“You know I can’t tell you.” Blood Spot sighed. “Stop asking.”

“No!” Chat Noir snapped. “I don’t want you! I want my Ladybug back!”

“She’s not yours,” the man in the earrings grumbled.

“Think she’s yours, then?” the man in the ring approached, clearly wanting to make a fight out of this.

“First of all, nobody belongs to anyone,” Blood Spot rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. “And second, we’ve talked about this. She’ll come back when she can.”

“Ugh!” Chat Noir hissed and spun dramatically on his heels, throwing his hands in the air as he skulked away.

Blood Spot only sighed for the millionth time.

A beeper went off, coming from the yo-yo wrapped around his arm.

“Right, patrol’s over.” he said, almost in relief. “See you later.”

“Not looking forward to it!” the cat sassed loudly behind him.

Luka dragged his hands down his face in silent frustration as he made his way through the two walls of the buildings behind their current spot, anxious to get back to the hospital.

===

“How’s Chat?” Marinette asked softly.

“He still hates me,” Luka sighed. “But at least he’s working with me.”

“I’m sorry,” she shuffled, unsurprisingly uncomfortable on the terrible hospital mattress. “He can be… difficult.”

“I’ll survive.” he replied. “Are you okay? Can I get you anything?”

“My butt hurts, could you-” Marinette grunted. “Could you put the pillow- ugh…”

She lifted herself up on both arms and Luka tugged the pillow under her.

“Thank you,” she blushed, settling back down. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?” Luka gave her a questioning look.

“Everything,” Marinette put her head in her hands. “The fall, the-the earrings, th-this…”

She gestured around the cramped hospital room.

“What’s wrong with this?” he cocked his head. “You need to be here while you heal up.”

“But it’s a huge inconvenience!” she whined into her palms.

“You’re not an inconvenience.” Luka shook his head. “You fell down a whole flight of stairs into a window, Marinette. You need rest.”

‘Fell’ was a simplification, but nobody knew that other than them, and even after a few years having passed, no-one would believe them if they named the culprit.

“But you’re stuck here!” Marinette pouted, muffled by her fingers. “It’s not fair!”

“Lila pushing you down the stairs wasn’t fair.” he countered. “And I  _want_  to be here. I don’t want you to have to go through this alone. Not anymore.”

She looked up from her hands.

“You’re too good to me.” she rubbed her eyes.

“Nope,” Luka smiled gently. “I’m as much good as you deserve.”

Marinette blushed and smiled back at him.

“Mlle. Dupain-Cheng?” a nurse peeked her head in the door.

“Yeah.” Marinette nodded.

“I need to take some blood so we can make sure you didn’t get anything from the glass.” the nurse came in with a little trolley.

“Oh,” Marinette sighed and offered her arm. “How long will the results take?”

“A day, maybe two.” the nurse replied, and then gave a smile as she prepped the needle. “You’ll be out soon enough, Mlle.”

Marinette winced as the nurse did the deed and Luka took her free hand. She had a strong grip - it felt like she might crush his fingers - but he didn’t mind.

A massive crash sounded in the distance. Her eyes shot open and met his.

Luka gave a nod and stood up. She was still holding his hand as he rose, so he leant down and kissed her knuckles softly.

Marinette went red and let go.

And then he disappeared to a bathroom to transform and jump out a window.

===

Marinette watched the fight on the news.

Not the akuma battle, the argument and attempted one-on-one battle between Chat Noir and Luka that occurred directly afterwards. It was no contest, of course, because Luka refused to throw any punches, and ended up tossing Chat into the skyline to get him out of his hair.

Luka didn’t return to the hospital before stay-in curfew, and Marinette began to worry.

Her sleep was usually restless, and it had worsened in the terrible-feeling room, but tonight, it was the worst it had ever been. Anxiety churned like a gale in her guts for hours.

She nearly screamed when something came in her window, and then nearly fainted when she realised it was Luka.

Marinette sat up and put the lamp on, just as he detransformed.

“Sorry I took so long, he, uh…” Luka came to sit beside the bed as if he’d never left. “He’s a persistent little tomcat, isn’t he.”

“Yeah,” she nodded weakly.

“Are you okay? Can I get you anything?” he asked.

Tikki floated over to see her.

“No, you're… you’re already doing so much,” Marinette whispered as she hugged the kwami. “I mean, taking the miraculous? It’s such a huge responsibility, and it’s not easy, and-”

“I think I’m handling it alright,” Luka told her. “And I only have to hold out till you’re better, right? It’ll be okay.”

“But…” she shook her head. “It’s so much to ask, Luka, I…”

“It was a lot to ask of a fourteen year old who knew nothing about it, too.” he reminded. “But you made it this far, cause you’re amazing. And, now, neither of us have to do this alone.”

“But it’s dangerous,” Marinette protested weakly. “You could get hurt, or-or worse…”

“I don’t care.” Luka shook his head. “You already  _got_  hurt.”

He reached out to softly stroke one of the red-purple marks on her arm.

“Whatever I can do to stop that from happening again, I’m gonna do it.”

“I can’t change your mind, can I.” she hugged herself and winced as she touched one of her bruises wrong.

“Nope.” he nodded, moving seats from the chair to beside her and gently reaching around her waist in comfort.

“Luka…” she looked at him, anxiety clear on her face.

“Ma-Ma-Marinette,” he leant close. “Whenever you need help, I’m gonna help you.”

He took one of her hands and held it up to his lips.

“No matter what.”

“ _Why_?” Marinette asked in exhausted exasperation, leaning on his shoulder.

“Cause you’ve had it rough.” Luka gave a weak smile. “So from now on, I’m gonna make sure you have  _someone_  on your side, even if it’s just me.”

She smiled gratefully.

“I’m gonna go find something to eat, okay?” he stood up again. “I’ll be back soon.”

“Luka?” Marinette tugged on his hand.

“Yeah.” Luka paused.

“Thank you,” she said, because there was nothing else she could think to say.

He only smiled and leant in to press a gentle kiss to her forehead.

“Like I said,” he whispered. “No matter what.”

Then he walked to the room door and turned back a single moment.

“Get some rest.” he smiled, and then disappeared.

Marinette lay down and fell into a much easier slumber, even if she wasn’t sure Luka would really stick around.

None of her other friends had.

But when she woke up, he was curled in the visitor’s chair, sound asleep, and it made her believe him.

===

“Hey,” Luka asked, opening the door to his tiny apartment. “How’d it go?”

“He was  _way_  too excited that you were gone.” Marinette rolled her eyes as she strolled in. “I thought you did great as Ladybug. Or, uh, ‘Blood Spot’.”

“I mean, I did my best.” he shrugged. “Dinner’s almost ready, if you’re hungry.”

“Please,” she said, coming over to sit at the kitchen counter. “Mama and Papa are too nervous about feeding me.”

“The bruises on your stomach still look bad?” Luka guessed.

“Yeah…” Marinette winced.

“Hey,” he gave a gentle smile and brushed a finger against her cheek. “They’ll feel better soon. Let me know if I can help at all.”

“Feeding me would be the best help,” she tried to hide the blush with a little banter.

“It’s not much, but…” Luka handed her a plate of bolognaise. “ _Bon appetit_.”

“ _Merci_ , Luka.” Marinette smiled and began to pick at it.

“And… any updates on Lila?” he asked, taking a mouthful of his own.

“She was  _loudly_  offended that I was alive.” she half-laughed. “It took everyone all of three seconds to figure it out.”

“Oh, Juleka sent me the video,” Luka nodded. “I’ve never seen Nino that pissed in my life. Did Alya actually land a hit?”

“Oh, yeah, she ripped into her,” Marinette nibbled at a little chunk of meat. “Literally - tore up her dress.”

“Everyone okay?” he checked.

“There was some hair pulling and a few bruises, and Alya got suspended, obviously,” she shrugged. “But nothing as bad as…”

A little moment of sad silence.

“Is anything still hurting?” Luka asked softly. “Cause I can take them back for a little longer if…”

“No, no, I’m all better, I promise!” Marinette shook her head. “But, thank you, Luka, I…”

He paused, waiting.

“I… I wanted… to say thank you, again…” she fiddled with the fork.

“For what?”

“For… everything.” she replied nervously. “The-the fall, the hospital, believing me… taking Tikki… dealing with Chat…”

“You don’t have to thank me, Marinette.” Luka smiled gently. “It was what you needed, so I did it.”

“Still… I…” Marinette ate one of the little spirally pastas. “I wanna take you to something or… or go somewhere for lunch, or…”

“Marinette,” he put his food down, stunned. “Don’t take me on a date just cause you feel like you have to.”

“Not cause I feel like I have to!” she defended, going red and looking away. “Be-because I want to.”

Luka blinked and then a nervous smile grew on his face.

“I’d love that.”


	14. Trying Again (Lukanette Week Day 5: Ice Skating)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> marinette and luka give skating another shot together
> 
> warning for mentions of leg injury because skating is dangerous

“Are you sure about this?” Luka asked her.

“Yes.” Marinette gave a decisive nod and a determined little pout. “I want to do it right this time.”

“You know you don’t have to.” he gave a smile.

“I think I do,” she blushed at it, but crossed her arms, not wanting to budge.

“Alright,” he conceded, putting his hands up. “C'mon then.”

He skated a little ways over and gave her a gesture when he was ready.

Marinette took a deep breath and imagined the move in her head. She’d have to draw on her Ladybug strength if she wanted to pull it off.

She could do it, she knew she could - she just wanted to prove it.

There was a chance, if she hesitated, that she might end up hurt, but she was sure she could do it.

Marinette skated directly for Luka’s position and reached out her arms. He grabbed her wrists and gave a practised spin and threw her up into the air.

She spun twice and spread her arms and legs out like a star, and as she fell, her heart stuttered, even though she knew this was normal.

Luka caught her like always, holding her with a steady grip that was firm, but had never hurt - not once in their entire time as skating partners - and directed her momentum on a diagonal.

Here was the tricky part; landing again without breaking her leg.

Luka shot her a split-second look. If he didn’t think she’d make it, he’d save her, but she was determined.

Marinette made sure to keep her legs where at the angles they were meant to be at and that they were bent how they were meant to be bent, and closed her eyes and let go of Luka’s arm.

The wobble in her knee as her right leg made contact with the ice nearly made her heart stop altogether, but before she knew it, she was gliding backwards on the ice, graceful as ever.

She scraped to a stop to catch her breath and a grin split across her face.

The look on Luka’s face as he zoomed over to join her was one of delight.

“We did it!” Marinette threw her hands in the air as he made a little circle around where she’d paused and stopped before her.

“Hell yeah, we did!” Luka beamed and picked her up and held her tight and spun them around.

She laughed and he laughed and she hugged his head and shoulders and he put her down, only to hesitate a moment, and then kiss her.

Marinette accepted with a surprised joy, kissing him with gleeful abandon. They panted a little afterwards… and not just from the physical exercise they’d been doing all day.

Luka smiled at her, but she could tell he was nervous.

“Hey,” she cleared her throat. “Did you, maybe, wanna… come for ice cream after we pack up here?”

“Fuck yes,” he replied, relief flooding him.

Marinette giggled and took his hand to hold while they did a little more skating, and Luka followed eagerly.


	15. Break (Lukanette Week Day 6: Blush)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> slightly suggestive fluff

Luka was someone who didn’t break easy.

He was cool, calm, collected, took things as they came and went with the flow.

Marinette loved that, his steadiness. She loved that he was strong and flexible, that he was someone she could lean on when she needed it.

He had always been like that.

But some small part of her wondered if she could crack Luka, just a little; throw him off his groove.

It started subtle, getting braver with her little flirts, but he only got braver with his, and it just made her fall for him all over again.

So she had decided to up her game.

They were shopping for an expensive dinner Jagged Stone had invited them to.

“Dress number one.” Marinette said, and opened the curtain.

Luka looked up from his phone where he sat with her bag, snapping to attention, and gave her a glance up and down and made a considering face.

Dress Number One was a pale pink dress with puffy sleeves and a knee-length skirt that flared.

“I like the color on you.” he smiled.

“It’s nice, isn’t it.” she hummed. “We’ll see.”

She went back in and changed into the second dress, something a little lighter and slimmer and minty green.

“Alright, how about this one?” she asked, and then stepped out of the dressing room.

“Ooh,” Luka shuffled, looking her over a little more thoroughly. “I’m liking this style.”

“Me too,” she grinned. “But… I don’t know if it’s short enough.”

Luka’s smile dropped and his eyes widened just a little, and Marinette considered that progress.

She turned without word and glanced over her shoulder before heading in to try on the last dress she’d picked out. A black and blue cocktail dress that reached her mid-thigh and showed off a considerable amount of neck, and gave her some much appreciated cleavage.

“Aaand,” Marinette stepped out. “This?”

Luka’s face slowly turned bright red, and he swallowed thickly.

Marinette burst into giggles and took the few steps over to hug him where he sat.

“You did that on purpose,” he mumbled, muffled, to her chest.

“Yeah,” she pulled back to smile wide at him. “I wanted to see if I could break you.”

“I wouldn’t say ‘break’ is the right word,” Luka cleared his throat, still blushing.

Marinette laughed and gave him a kiss.

“Let me pay for this and we can go home.” she shook her head and turned back to put her original clothes back on.

When she walked out with the dresses in arm, he was still visibly affected.

“I’m paying for this,” he stood up snatched the cocktail dress, and gave her a squeeze. “Go put the other ones back.”

“Someone’s excited.” Marinette gave him a look.

“Excited is definitely closer to what you made me than broken,” Luka mumbled under his breath and made for the counter.

She rolled her eyes and went to return the dresses, smiling smugly at her mission accomplished.


	16. Future (Lukanette Week Day 7)

“Are ya ready, mate?” Jagged leaned over to him.

“You want my honest answer?” Luka swallowed.

“Getting homesick already?” the rockstar raised an eyebrow.

Luka only frowned, still conflicted.

“Luka, no-ones dragging you on that plane.” Penny reminded gently.

“I just…” Luka chewed his lip anxiously.

“I know, mate,” Jagged nodded. “But you can still go back to ‘er.”

“And you  _know_  Jagged,” Penny nodded encouragingly. “You will definitely be welcome to come on the next tour.”

Luka looked between them, and then at the floor, and scrunched up his face as if in pain.

“Thank you so much for this opportunity, but I can’t.” he blurted, grabbing the luggage handle. “I’m sorry, but I have to go home.”

“No worries, mate.” Jagged clapped him on the back. “Go be with your girl.”

“We’ll keep you updated, Luka,” Penny smiled. “You’ll keep us updated, too, won’t you?”

“Thank you so much,” Luka said again, shaking his head and turning to find the exit. “And we will, promise!”

He began to hurry back.

“He’s a good kid.” Jagged smiled as he watched his protégé disappear. “Make sure we send them some stuff. Nothing too big, though, we know what they’re like.”

“Absolutely.” Penny nodded, smiling in kind.

===

Luka practically burst into the apartment, and Marinette squealed in the lounge.

He rushed for her, leaving the bags in the doorway.

“Luka?!” she squeaked at him, stunned. “I thought you’d be on the plane by now!”

“I couldn’t do it,” he dropped to his knees where she sat on the couch and wrapped his arms around her. “I couldn’t. I couldn’t leave you.”

“Oh my  _god_ , Luka,” Marinette gave an exasperated smile and reached for him, too. “It was only gonna be a month and a half!”

“The most important month and a half ever,” Luka contested. “And I wouldn’t be here for it? No way in hell.”

“What about your music career?” she asked softly. “Your future?”

“This.” he nuzzled her rounded belly pointedly. “This right here.  _This_ is my future. And I can’t believe I ever even  _considered_  leaving it.”

Marinette gave a little sigh and looked at him with a gentle expression.

“You  _will_  go on the next one, right?” she put her hand to his cheek. “The world is waiting to hear your music, you know.”

“Yes, yes, I will, baby, I promise.” Luka nodded. “But there’s someone more important I should be playing for right now.”

He kissed her belly. She chuckled at him.

“I’m gonna go unpack my stuff.” he stood up and kissed her cheek. “And then we’re gonna order takeout and put on a movie and then we can get into bed and jam a little for Junior.”

“Yes,” Marinette smiled at him. “That’ll be nice.”

And even if she thought he should have gone, she decided in the dark as they lay with his arms curled protectively around her middle and the tiny child within, Marinette was very glad Luka had come home.


	17. Go

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a request for Lukanette with a kiss in danger

[THERE IS AN AKUMA IN THIS AREA. PLEASE FIND SHELTER WHILE LADYBUG AND CHAT NOIR ARRIVE.]

[THERE IS AN AKUMA IN THIS AREA. PLEASE FIND SHELTER WHILE LADYBUG AND CHAT NOIR ARRIVE.]

[THERE IS AN AKUMA IN THIS AREA. PLEA…]

Luka pulled Marinette into a little alleyway between two buildings, and crouched them behind a dumpster.

The akuma alert sirens were very loud, and the screaming people rushing about in the square outside did not help.

This akuma was particularly threatening, wielding fire powers that had already burned a few people, and the moment it crossed his line of vision, Luka had taken Marinette’s hand and run as fast as he could in the other direction.

Marinette moved from beside him, and his heartrate spiked.

“Wait, where are you going?” he asked, shooting up and grabbing her wrist lightly.

“I… I have to go…” Marinette bit her lip, eyes flickering between him and the square outside.

“ _What_?” Luka begged. “Why?”

Marinette’s expression turned to one of sadness and guilt.

“I wish I could tell you,” she said softly. “But I can’t.”

Luka didn’t understand.

Something exploded outside in the square, and Marinette jumped in reflex.

“Please, Luka,” Marinette begged, and put her hand over his on her arm. “I  _really_  have to go.”

“I don’t want you out there alone,” Luka shook his head in protest.

She looked at him with something like surprise, and a faint blush tinted her cheeks.

“I…” he swallowed his nerves and looked into her eyes. “I don’t know what I’d do if you got hurt…”

Marinette seemed to have some kind of realisation.

Something else exploded, something bigger, and closer to their hiding place. A cloud of fire and ash and smoke rushed into the alleyway.

Luka instinctually pulled Marinette close to him and shielded her from it.

He wasn’t burnt, but his back felt lightly toasted and there was a fair amount of soot in his hair and on his jacket.

Marinette looked up at him from his arms, wide eyed, and blinked.

And then she kissed him.

It was Luka’s turn to be stunned. His heart pounded and he wanted to hold her tighter and never let go.

“Thank you for protecting me,” Marinette murmured to his lips. “But I really have to go.”

He knew he couldn’t really stop her. He let go of her, and closed his eyes.

Marinette felt even more guilty than she usually did.

“I’ll come back,” she whispered. “I promise.”

She kissed his cheek, and his eyes shot open in surprise.

She smiled one more time at him, and then pulled away.

It felt as if she parted from him in slow motion, but she still disappeared too quickly.

The alarms were still blaring and the crowd was still screaming, but the only thing Luka could hear was the sound of Marinette’s footsteps as she hurried away.

And he waited there, anxious, until he heard those footsteps returning.


	18. Happy Surprise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> made a post on tumblr about marinette kissing luka in celebration and leaving him smiling like an idiot and someone asked me to elaborate so i wrote a Short scene for it

[…And our opening act just cancelled.] Penny’s voice on the phone speaker still sounded loud thanks to the silence of the small crowd present. [There’s no way to organize anyone else in time, so do you guys want the spot?]

Alya looked up to the bandmates, all of whom quietly but animatedly made their positions of support very clear.

“That sounds wonderful, Mlle. Penny,” Alya smiled, speaking clearly and confidently, something practically no-one else in the group could do. “Send me the all details and we’ll deliver. We won’t let you down!”

[No problem, kids,] Penny sounded as though she was smiling. [And thank you!]

“No, Mlle, thank _you_!” Alya grinned, and the call ended.

Everyone present took a deep breath.

And promptly burst into sighs of relief and cheers of elation.

Ivan whooped and pounded his fist in the air. Alya and Mylene hugged in celebration. Rose squealed at the top of her lungs. Adrien and Nino chest-bumped.

“Oh thank God,” Luka sighed in relief and started to softly laugh away his anxiety.

Marinette bounced in a little circle, clapping and laughing, and then turned to the chuckling Luka beside her, grabbed his face with both hands and smushed her lips against his.

It was a quick, enthusiastic kiss that neither were expecting, but also neither opposed to.

Marinette didn't even seem to realize she’d done it, because she kept bouncing and squealing and clapping.

Luka, on the other hand, seemed to be aware of exactly nothing else. Slowly, he went red in the cheeks, and a smile grew on his face - the most genuine and joyful smile that he’d had in a long time, Juleka realised.

Everyone else present gaped, some in shock and some in delight.

Marinette paused in her tracks, wondering why everyone had stopped celebrating.

It caught up to her quickly, and she also went red.

No-one dared speak or move while she processed, almost scared she might combust if startled.

Slowly, she turned to Luka again, blinking in surprise, and opened her mouth, as if to start one of her usual ‘I meant-’ speeches.

Luka, still beaming, raised his eyebrows in questioning, and she lost her nerve closed her mouth.

He reached for her, and she looked at his outstretched arms, and back at his face, and hugged him, sighing in relief.

And then, as if none of their gawking companions were there, they kissed again.

Alya, Rose and Mylene burst into applause for their friend.

As if broken from a trance, Luka and Marinette parted.

“C-c-congratulations, guys.” Marinette cleared her throat, and the blush on her cheeks returned at full force.

“Congratulations indeed.” Alya smiled.

“So, what are we playing?” Luka asked, still pink in the cheeks and smiling. “We’re opening for Jagged Stone, it should be our best song.”

“Definitely ‘Neon Phoenix’!” Rose burst out. “We should practice!”

Hums and mumbled words of agreement sounded from the whole group.

Setup was fast, as the enthusiastic anticipation had returned.

Luka fumbled his guitar as he picked it up, but even that couldn’t wipe the beam off his face.

Similarly, Marinette’s blush wouldn’t fade for a good few hours, even in the face of Rose’s deafening performance.


	19. Hand Puppets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> after the heaven-sent blessing called 'silencer', an anon asked the wonderful lunian if marinette would start making hand puppet jokes with luka, and i just had to write a little scene about it

Luka walked into school under the understandable impression that everything was normal, which, for Luka, all in all, meant things were pretty good.

A few things did nag at the edges of his mind, such as the fact that he seemed to have forgotten a significant chunk of yesterday’s events, his accidental confession to Marinette, and the potential fallout of both which may have awaited him today.

One of his classmates complimented his akumatized outfit, which confirmed the answer given by Ladybug to the question of the gap in his memory. A quick phone visit to the Ladyblog, even if the information was practically skeletal, was satisfactory to assure he had not missed much.

In all honesty, it sounded like just another day in Papillon-Infested Paris.

That did leave the question of whether his accidental confession had changed Marinette’s mind on him, though.

At the time, while Luka hadn’t meant for his words to come out as dramatic as they did, he’d heard the song in her heart build into a symphony that played the whole time Kitty Section had been performing, competing for his attention like the rest of Marinette tended to do whenever she was around.

Except worse, because while he was normally okay at focusing on other things, it was hard to ignore such a strong and beautiful sound pouring from her soul, especially when he knew he was the one that put it there.

But, despite the positive signs, there was a tiny fear in the back of his head that Marinette had changed her mind overnight, that she might feel pressured or uncomfortable around him after giving what he’d said a bit of thought, which was the opposite of what he wanted.

Luka was a little worried. He loved Marinette, and if letting that information slip ruined their friendship, he’d feel terrible.

Class was going to start soon, so he stood up from the bench he’d been sitting at and picked up his bag and started walking.

Only to be run into by a small, pink, pigtailed bundle of nerves.

Suddenly, they were a pile on the ground, not at all injured, but absolutely surprised.

“Sorry!” came a voice Luka recognized immediately.

“Good morning, Ma-Ma-Marinette.” he smiled as they sat up.

Marinette only blinked at him, and blushed.

He liked that blush.

She opened her mouth, as if to say something, but it seemed she was too shy to go through with it.

“Here,” Luka held up his hand like a sock puppet and put on falsetto. “‘Good morning, Luka!’”

Marinette giggled, and held up her own hand.

“'Good luck in class today, Marinette,’” she tried to make her voice deeper, gruffer.

“'Thank you, I’m probably going to need it!’” Luka chuckled, reciting an exchange they had all the time, and she joined in with her gentle laugh.

The bell rang above them, and they decided it was probably time to get to class.

Marinette moved her hand forward and brushed the fingertips against his, as if the little hand-puppets were kissing, making a little 'mwah’ sound with her mouth, and then grabbed her bag and got up to offer him her hand.

Luka let her help him up, blinking, stunned, and she waved and dashed away to homeroom.

He turned his hand-puppet to look at it, as if asking it if the little hand-puppet-kiss had really happened, and then felt silly and dropped his hand.

As he grabbed his bag and headed for class, Luka wondered if she meant that she wanted him to kiss her, or that she wanted to kiss him.

Either way, he was excited to find out.


	20. Fair

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lukanette server pals got into a discussion about the couffaine’s living conditions, i got the idea for a short fic touching on the idea, smashed it out to work my feelings about it out
> 
> Could be read as being part of the same canon as 'The Houseboat Children', but both can stand alone
> 
> pure fluff, but gets a teensy bit suggestive. warning for mention of hand injuries (burns)

“Hellooo,” Marinette called, and knocked on the wall of the stairway.

“Oh, hey, Marinette!” Luka called back from somewhere she couldn’t see.

“I have your shirt,” she informed brightly, looking around. “Sewn and washed.”

“Oh, god, thank you so much,” he breathed a sigh of relief, appearing in the doorway of the cabins. “I have work in an hour, I was starting to think I’d have to go shirtless.”

Marinette giggled at what she naturally assumed was a joke, and made her way over to him.

“Or worse,” Luka chuckled, half hidden. “Have to wear one of Jules’ little tank tops.”

His short friend giggled again and handed him the shirt, folded neatly.

“I’m sorry I can’t say it’s as good as new,” she said, regretful. “It’s very worn.”

“I like to think of it as well-loved,” he smiled, and stepped back to put it on.

Marinette blushed a bit and looked away from his bare torso. Luka had hit a growth spurt about a month before his seventeenth birthday, and he was a bit bigger now. Taller, broader-shouldered, and - she felt a little scandalous admitting it, but - more obviously muscled.

Of course, Luka had been kind of scrawny to begin with, so it wasn’t like he’d become a body-builder overnight. No, it was more subtle than that; just a little more weight on his legs, a little more shape to his arms, a little more definition to the planes of his chest and stomach.

Not much, sure, but enough to leave her a little more flustered every time she saw him shirtless.

“But, thanks anyway, Marinette,” Luka lifted the hem of the shirt to inspect the stitching. “This should last me a few more weeks till I can afford a new shirt.”

“Can’t you just wear another one?” Marinette cocked her head.

Luka blinked, and then seemed to deflate a little, going pink in the cheeks as if embarrassed.

“I… only own one.” he admitted quietly.

Her eyes widened.

He shrunk in on himself a little bit.

“Luka, are you serious?” Marinette stepped forward, worried.

Luka swallowed and nodded.

“Wh… wh… wh…” she attempted to ask to many questions at once and ended up stuttering.

“Cause we don’t have the money.” he said softly.

The words were gentle, like the rest of him, but they still hit Marinette right in the gut.

“But… Juleka has lots of clothes…” Marinette said, as if trying to argue it with herself.

“Hand-me-downs, from Ma.” Luka shrugged weakly. “And whatever I can find at the second-hand-store for her.”

She blinked at him, and walked over to the couch. He followed.

She plonked down, silently distraught by this revelation. He joined her.

“Don’t worry, Marinette,” he tried. “It’s always been like this. I’m used to it, honest.”

“But…” she had too many protests to say at once and couldn’t manage to sort them out in time.

“Really,” Luka reached out to half-hug her. “This is what life is for us.”

“But… but it's…” Marinette was distressed. “It’s not fair.”

“A lot of things in life aren’t.” he said, very, very softly.

She looked at him like he was telling her Santa didn’t exist.

“It wasn’t fair when dad left Ma with two kids,” Luka frowned, and his thumb stroked her arm. “It wasn’t fair when Ma got drunk every other night and left a toddler to take care of a baby. It wasn’t fair when Ma couldn’t get a job cause of our heritage.”

The look on his face told Marinette that he blamed himself for every one of these things.

“It wasn’t fair when I got kicked out of school,” he said. “It wasn’t fair when I had to get a job to keep my sister fed and going there. It wasn’t fair when Ma got arrested and I had to use half my life savings to get her out.”

Marinette hugged him, and waited for him to finish.

“It’s not fair that I had to move to the couch 'cause Ma never bothered putting us in separate rooms.” Luka sighed. “It’s not fair that I work thirty hours a week at seventeen and can’t afford clothes as well as food.”

He looked at her with a pained smile.

“It wasn’t fair when XY stole our stuff.” he shrugged. “It’s not fair what Lila’s doing.”

“But you fought those,” Marinette told him. “You fought XY and you fought Lila… why can’t you fight this?”

“I can’t fight the whole world.” Luka shook his head.

Marinette wanted to fight the whole world. She wanted to do something, _anything_ , to change this.

“But I appreciate you wanting to fight it, Marinette.” he whispered to her. “That means a lot to me.”

She hugged him tighter and pouted.

He hugged her back, nuzzling his cheek in her hair, and chuckled.

“Sorry to spoil the moment,” he said to her forehead. “But I need to head to work if I don’t wanna get fired.”

“Oh, god, sorry!” Marinette yelped, snapping back and hoping she hadn’t kept him too long. “Go, go, go!”

“See ya later, Ma-Ma-Marinette.” he gave a sad smile and kissed her cheek, then got up to run out to his bike.

Marinette made a little huff as he rode away. She had to do _something_.

She had to.

She ran home as fast as she could.

===

Luka hissed as he took his hands off the bike handles. They were red and tender from being submerged on-and-off in hot water for six hours, since the kitchen had run out of gloves.

He headed down the ramp to the houseboat, and prepared to go to sleep.

There was something already in his bed. Or, on his couch, as it were, because those two locations were essentially the same thing now.

A package, blue with a black ribbon, sitting in the lap of one dozing Marinette, still dressed for the day.

He blinked at her, and then at the package, almost expecting it to explode or something.

She yawned and stirred, and he jumped a little.

“Luka?” Marinette asked, and yawned.

“Hey, Marinette.” Luka replied softly, kneeling at her side.

“Sorry for being here so late,” she moved, stiff.

“Shh,” he scolded gently. “You’re always welcome here, you know that.”

“I just… had to give you this,” she yawned again, threatening to fall asleep, and shifted the package in her hands.

Luka reached out and took it.

It was light for its size, and a little squishy.

“It’s not much, but it’s a start.” Marinette curled into a ball and snuggled into his little pile of pillows.

He blushed at her cuteness and opened the package - difficult with his hurt hands - and immediately went more red.

Three shirts, two white and one black, with subtle but personal designs. Jagged Stone’s logo on one, some snowflakes embroidered on the breast pocket of another, and blue lining on the hem of the last. The fabric was so soft it began to soothe the practically cooked skin of his hands.

The other two items were two pairs of sweatpants, grey and black, also very comfy feeling.

“Now you don’t have to sleep in your jeans…” Marinette mumble-giggled at him.

Luka wanted to kiss her. Very passionately, and a lot.

“And don’t even think about paying me for these…” she poked out a pointer finger accusingly from where she was snuggled into the pillows, one eye open.

“Not even not in money?” Luka put them on the coffee table and scooted closer to her.

“What else would you pay me in…?” she made an adorable little questioning pout.

“Oh, you know, a song, my undying gratitude,” he whispered to her, booping his nose on the accusing finger. “But you already have plenty of those from me.”

Marinette giggled at him.

“And obviously, I don’t have much else to offer,” Luka told her. “But I could probably pay you in kisses.”

Her one open eye went wide and her cheek went pink.

“Unless you don’t want kisses.” he backed down, hoping he hadn’t scared her off forever.

Marinette moved, unsinking herself out of the pile of pillows, and came close to his face.

“I don’t usually take kisses as payment.” she told him, a sort of sleepy surprise in her eyes. “But… one kiss per item.”

“Oh, no, no, no.” Luka insisted. “This is quality work. Five. Five per thing.”

“Gosh, do you _want_ to be kissing me all night?” Marinette teased. “Two. Two kisses per item.”

“I’d love to be kissing you all night.” he whispered earnestly. “But I know you have more important things to do than waste time on me, so… three per thing, no less.”

“Fifteen kisses…” she considered, her blush getting worse. “I think I can settle for fifteen.”

“Done.” Luka smiled. “Where would you like me to put them?”

“Where do you want to put them?” Marinette breathed, her eyes flickering up and down his body.

“Well, I’m counting on you to keep track for me,” he stood up and sat on the couch by her curled legs. “But I’d like to put some here…”

He took her hands and lifted them to his lips, kissing her knuckles in turn.

“Thirteen left.” she informed breathily.

Luka used another five of the allotted kisses to smooch a line up her arm.

“You seem to know what you’re doing…” Marinette said, but if it was meant to come out confident, it failed to do so.

“I’ve been thinking about it a lot.” he shrugged and smiled. “Honestly, I’ve just been waiting for the chance.”

She went her favourite shade of pink, looked him up and down again, and took a little sharp breath.

“Eight left…” she whispered.

Luka bit his lip in hoping and moved forward, and her legs fell apart to let him closer.

Holding her head gently with one hand, he brushed a single kiss to the side of her neck. She made the lightest of gasps.

He left a kiss lower, on her shoulder, and higher, on her jaw.

“F-five…” she breathed, and her chest fluttered with uneven pants.

He stroked her cheek with his thumb, which stung his skin a little, but he didn’t care.

“You can tell me to stop, if you need to, you know that, right?” he whispered. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“I don’t want you to stop.” Marinette whispered back, and gave a teasing smile. “The transaction’s not exactly over, is it?”

“Five left…” Luka hummed in consideration. “Better make them count.”

Her smile remained as he nuzzled her cheek and slowly, softly, left two of his kisses there.

He counted down in his head.

Three, a kiss to her forehead, amongst her soft black hair.

Two, a kiss right on the end of her tiny round nose.

One. Luka was scared, he would admit, to use his last kiss to gamble on the chance to kiss her lips.

But luck smiled at him, and put her hands on his face, and he did it.

Marinette tried to give as much as she got, which was a tad difficult, since he seemed to know precisely what he was doing, but she was learning on the job.

At about the thirty-second mark their teeth clacked together and she giggled.

“Mm, sorry,” Luka whispered, and panted for air.

“It’s alright,” Marinette nuzzled his cheek and gifted him an extra kiss there. “That was… really nice.”

“I’m glad.” he smiled, and pulled back slowly. “I… should take you home.”

“Do I have to go?” she pouted.

“You agreed to fifteen kisses, no more, no less.” Luka teased gently, and then leant in to whisper. “And as much as I’d love to upsell you… I think we’re a bit young to be making that particular purchase just yet.”

Marinette blinked and went red.

“Too far?” he winced. “I’m sorry.”

“Not too far.” she breathed, and brushed her fingers down from his cheeks. “You’re right.”

Marinette made a decisive little huff that made him want to revisit his answer to the ‘kissing her all night’ tease from earlier.

“Take me home before we do something silly?” she smiled nervously.

“Yes ma'am.” he nodded and stood up.

She followed him out to the bike.

“Hey,” he beckoned before they got on. “Thank you. For the clothes. It's… it means a lot.”

“Thanks for the kisses.” she replied, putting on the spare helmet. “I hope you know that’s the only currency I’m going to accept from you from now on.”

“Does that go both ways?” Luka braved, revving the little bike engine. “Can I have a goodnight kiss for driving you home?”

“You ask that like you weren’t gonna get one anyway.” Marinette replied with a steadiness that made his heart skip a beat, wrapping her arms around his middle.

They were both beaming for the entire ride to the bakery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi i love them
> 
> so a disclaimer: i made a post about the couffaine's living conditions that said they may live in poverty. on the post, since im a bit of a dramatic bitch at times, i did go full 'worst case scenario', and recieved a bit of nasty backlash for that (despite saying on the same post that i knew it may not have been so bad and was just exploring the extremes), and im repeating it here so there isnt more of that in the comments lmao. maybe luka does own more than one shirt, but that doesnt mean he and his family arent poor.


End file.
